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This was no surprise as it is a
further step towards a full-
blown new Alfa Romeo Formula
1 team. Ferrari and Alfa Romeo
are no longer owned part of
the same industrial group, as
Ferrari was separated from Fiat
Chrysler Automobiles (FCA)
when it was floated in October
2015. The two companies
still share many of the same
shareholders and so their
fortunes remained intertwined
to some extent.
The two companies also have
the same chairman in Sergio
Marchionne. It is, therefore,
entirely logical for Alfa Romeo
to use Ferrari to help it become
a force in Formula 1, in order to
support Alfa Romeo's drive to
become a sporting and luxury
brand. Ferrari would benefit
from such an arrangement
because it would be paid by
Alfa Romeo, which would help
to offset the likely impact of
Formula 1's new commercial
structures and it would help to
absorb Ferrari staff if there is
going to be a budget cap, as
seems increasingly likely.
Thus there could easily be
an arrangement which is
similar to the one between
Ferrari and Haas. Technical
partnerships in F1 are allowed
as long as a team meets the
criteria for being classified as
a constructor. This includes
designing a number of listed
parts, including the chassis and
all aerodynamic surfaces of
the car. Haas designs the cars
and supplies the drawings to
Dallara for manufacture.
But it also uses the Maranello
wind tunnel for its aerodynamic
development work, buys
everything it is allowed to buy
from Ferrari, including the
engine, the gearbox and a wide
range of other parts.
Alfa Romeo has not had a
competition department since
2007 when it split with N
Technology but it now seems
that Alfa Romeo is moving
towards acquiring Sauber,
in order to get an entry into
Formula 1. It remains to be seen
whether Sauber will continue
to be headquartered in Hinwil,
or whether a new facility will be
established in a more sensible
location. The value of Hinwil is
that it is a turn-key operation,
but it is also expensive to run
and difficult to attract good
people to Zurich.
The team's wind tunnel is one
of the best in the business,
but it could function as a
busy independent facility, or
be used by the Fiat Chrysler
Automobiles group. The
announcement that Resta is to
be the new technical director
is no great surprise, nor is the
fact that he will start work on
July 1. This means that he has
no gardening leave and thus
that Ferrari is not fighting the
move. Resta is an important
figure at Ferrari but his career
path is currently blocked by
Mattia Binotto and as the
two men are from the same
generation, Resta's only real
choice is to move on.
Sauber has recently informed
its staff that there is a new
holding company (Islero
Investments) but says that the
ownership has not changed,
despite suggestions that this
is the first step towards an
Alfa Romeo takeover of the
business.
Further underlining the logic
of an Alfa Romeo F1 team is
the announcement last week
that Alfa Romeo is planning
to build a supercar that will
compete with Ferrari, McLaren
and Porsche. The car will be
a coupé and will be called the
8C, a name that harks back
to Alfa's racing past when the
8C tag was first used for a
Vittorio Jano-designed engine
which was introduced in 1931
and powered the P3 Grand Prix
car throughout the 1930s. The
plan is for the 2018 8C to be
a turbo-charged mid-engine
hybrid, using an all-wheel-
drive electric drive system.
Total output will be around 700
horsepower.
The firm has also launched a
range of new SUVs and other
luxury and sporting cars. The
new range comes as a result
of new management following
the appointment in February
of Tim Kuniskis as head of the
Maserati Alfa Romeo division of
FCA. He was formerly in charge
of Dodge’s SRT division.
The combination of events
adds to the belief that Alfa
Romeo will soon make an
official entry into as a factory
team, taking over Sauber,
rather than simply being the
sponsors, as has been the case
this season.
Joe Saward
Group F1 Editor
Montreal, Canada
11th Jun, 2018
Last week Sauber has announced the appointment
of Ferrari's chief designer Simone Resta as its new
technical director.
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